This being a form of the etymological deception-pressure tactics so pervasively used in politics. As in "progressive" politics. We're forward-thinking, you see. And if you do not agree, well, then you are obviously a stick-in-the-mud at best and probably something worse.

You see?

It is thus "advanced" to have a car that "assists" (that is, controls) the driver. As to the why, an announcement the other day by Mitsubishi and TomTom – maker of portable GPS systems – heralding the very latest and most "advanced" driver assistance technology they've jointly developed, gives us a window into that.

Mitsubishi, TomTom Combine on Cockpit that Monitors Driver, Traffic reads the headline of the news story that fails to explain the why.

Among the "advances":

A thermal camera can track biometric information to provide insight into short- and long-term changes to a driver's physical status, triggering autonomous pullovers and alerts to emergency services if necessary."